


Free to Be

by Everybody_Loves_Chocolate



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Consent, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, Dating, Drunken Kissing, Drunkenness, Feelings, Fluff, Forehead Kisses, Getting Together, Hugs, Kissing, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan-centric, M/M, Not Beta Read, Some Plot, Stress Baking, ask for consent, be drunk and respectful everyone, im just saying, not that you should be drunk to be respectful, renyang are basically only mentioned tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:15:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26377912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Everybody_Loves_Chocolate/pseuds/Everybody_Loves_Chocolate
Summary: How Donghyuck and Mark started dating was kind of peculiar but that didn't stop them from treating each other with care.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 8
Kudos: 133





	Free to Be

**Author's Note:**

> :)
> 
> Again something not going at all like how I originally had in mind but I kind of really like this one. There's only, like, two plot points but it'S really fluffy so...
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Donghyuck and Mark’s relationship had been kind of a surprise to everyone around them, somehow including the two of them too. They’d known each other since high school but they had only been in a kind of casual friendship, nothing too serious, like hanging out at one another’s place or ever spending time alone. Mark had gone to college and Donghyuck had completed his last year in high school and they had found out that they were attending the same college when Donghyuck had walked into Mark’s dorm room on the first day. It had quickly become apparent that they were going to be roommates and they had easily rekindled their friendship.

It was nice to live together, especially since they were both kind of quiet people when their other friends weren’t around and they were alone in their rooms. Mark played music quietly or played his guitar and sung but other than that Donghyuck never really heard him.

They watched movies together and they cooked together, though, that had only been one time and then Donghyuck had forbidden Mark from ever cooking in their dorm ever again. Mark meant well but he really couldn’t cook for shit. The older boy hadn’t complained, instead choosing to watch Donghyuck cook. It felt kind of domestic to have Mark sit at the table and basically constantly look at Donghyuck but it wasn’t like it was a bad feeling. They’d make light conversation, sometimes just complaining about their professors or assignments, other times just getting to know each other better.

Even though it was Donghyuck’s first year in college, he still had little time to visit his friends who attended another college or his family that was living in the town over. That of course meant that he was somewhat craving physical affection, especially since he was a very affectionate person in nature, but he didn’t think Mark and he were quite there yet in their friendship so Donghyuck kept quiet.

It only all came out when Mark and Donghyuck decided to get drunk in celebration of Mark getting the internship he had dreamt of ever since he had known what he wanted to major in.

Donghyuck had come back to the dorm that day to Mark setting up snacks and alcohol in front of the TV that was already on the main menu of _The Avengers_. Donghyuck raised an eyebrow, dropping his bag in the entrance and slipping off his shoes as Mark looked up. The older boy smiled and waved, greeting him with a cheerful, “Hey, Hyuck! Guess who got the best internship ever.”

Donghyuck snorted and shook his head, trudging into the living room just as Mark retrieved two bottles of beer from their mini fridge beside the couch.

“You?” the younger asked as he plopped down on the couch, immediately reaching for a pillow and pulling his to his chest. God, he really was touch starved.

Mark’s eyes lit up as he nodded vehemently and his smile threatened to split his face. Before Donghyuck knew, the older boy was ranting about how he had never thought it would be possible and how much this meant to him and how he really wanted to celebrate it. Donghyuck nodded along, smiling slightly and watching Mark with an adoring gaze. He really was something else that boy.

“Anyways,” Mark said as he finally sat down next to Donghyuck, not close enough to be touching but not far enough for Donghyuck not to feel his warmth. “Tonight we’re just going to watch great movies, drink a bit and enjoy ourselves.”

Donghyuck nodded, finally congratulating Mark on his internship as he hadn’t gotten the chance before. Mark handed Donghyuck his beer with a scrunch of his nose before starting the movie.

Everything went pretty normally from there. They watched movie after movie and after some time they switched from beer to vodka and cola for a better taste. Every time Mark got up and sat back down again it seemed like he was sitting closer to Donghyuck until the elder’s head finally hit his shoulder. Surprised, Donghyuck turned to look at him but Mark was quick to pull away with panicked eyes and raised hands.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. It’s just that…” Mark trailed off, looking down at the couch and picking at his T-shirt instead of continuing. Donghyuck nudged his knee and told him to continue. “Well, I mean, I’m kind of deprived of physical affection? Not that you have to give it to me though! I just… felt comfortable I guess.”

Donghyuck chuckled and pulled Mark closer again, this time settling against Mark and putting his own head on the elder’s shoulder. Mark startled a little but was quick to wind his arms around Donghyuck and settle them into a more comfortable position. Still, Donghyuck assured him, “I’m deprived too, don’t worry.”

Mark giggled and nuzzled his cheek against the top of Donghyuck’s head before both of them focused on the movie again. It was warm and nice and Donghyuck felt incredibly safe.

At one point, they moved to lie down on the couch instead, Mark still back hugging Donghyuck, hooking his chin over the younger boy’s shoulder. Surprisingly, it wasn’t uncomfortable but that made them too lazy to get up and change the movie when the one they were watching ended. They just rearranged themselves again, ending in Donghyuck lying on top of Mark with Mark’s hands on the small on his back.

“Am I really not too heavy?” Donghyuck asked for the fifth time and Mark rolled his eyes.

“No, you’re really really not. Now shut up, I’m trying to enjoy the title music here.”

“But, seriously-“

“You’re not too heavy, shut up.”

Donghyuck didn’t know what came over him but at those words he smirked and pushed himself off a little so that he could look at Mark.

“Make me,” he said and Mark raised his eyebrows but he didn’t look affronted, if anything he looked more amused. Donghyuck didn’t go back on his words even as one of Mark’s hands slid into his hair and Mark raised his head, eyes hooded as he asked, “Can I kiss you?”

Already breathless, Donghyuck nodded, whispering a weak, “Yes.” before Mark’s lips were on his. Donghyuck didn’t really know what was happening, especially considering he had never actually thought about kissing Mark, but it felt really really nice.

Their lips moved against each other slowly as Donghyuck cupped Mark’s face and closed his eyes, tilting his head. Mark sighed into the kiss and flexed his fingers in Donghyuck’s hair. That sent a shiver down Donghyuck’s spine as he pressed against Mark, getting bolder.

They didn’t go much further, sticking to kissing slowly, sometimes with tongue, then cuddling, then kissing again. Donghyuck hadn’t had a boyfriend in two years and he had really missed this. The closeness to someone you could kiss without any consequences. At least, that was what Donghyuck’s drunken brain thought it was.

It turned out making out with your roommate, whom you didn’t exactly have romantic feelings for, and then falling asleep on him did have consequences. One of them being said roommate groaning into your ear at ass-o-clock in the morning. Donghyuck grumbled and smacked Mark, head hurting and eyes not wanting to open.

“Wake up, Hyuck, we need to talk,” Mark said, voice rumbling in his chest and Donghyuck’s eyes almost flew open. Right, maybe they should’ve talked it out before sharing more than innocent kisses.

Groaning, Donghyuck rightened himself and shifted to the end of the couch Mark wasn’t occupying with his body. Mark sat up as well and then they just stared at each other. The elder’s face was kind of pink as he diverted his gaze to the couch and his fingers weren’t able to stay still as he proclaimed, “I’m so so sorry. God, I don’t know what I was thinking yesterday. I may be deprived but I shouldn’t have dragged you into it. I’m so sorry, Donghyuck.”

Donghyuck shook his head, immediately regretting it as the headache got worse and Donghyuck grabbed the side of his head, groaning. Still, he managed to smile at Mark and wave dismissively.

“It’s okay, really. It was consensual anyways and it’s not like I didn’t enjoy it to be honest.”

For a brief second, Donghyuck wanted to hit himself at his bad choice of words but then Mark smiled and it was okay again. Actually, it was more than okay as Donghyuck’s heart beat faster even thought it hadn’t done that before and Donghyuck’s own cheeks turned pink. He actually really enjoyed cuddling with Mark and kissing him so he cleared his throat and asked, in a kind of meek voice, “Actually, since it felt pretty good… would you mind, maybe being something like friends with benefits?”

At the look on Mark’s face, Donghyuck quickly raised his hands.

“Or not! I mean, it would really only do us good but if you don’t want to then you don’t have to. This could’ve been a one time thing or I could just forget about it,” Donghyuck said but Mark slowly shook his head, smiling.

“It’s okay,” he assured Donghyuck. “I actually enjoyed it too, it’s just that I don’t really do friends with benefits. If anything, I want a real relationship.”

Donghyuck nodded and pursed his lips. He understood Mark’s point and it wasn’t like he _disagreed_ per se so he tilted his head and Mark tilted his head and they were looking at each other like two curious dogs. It didn’t take Donghyuck long to decide, listening to the strong beats of his heart.

“How about we date then?”

And that’s how they ended up together. Both Renjun and Yangyang had laughed at Donghyuck through the phone when he had told them but that was better than the sigh Mark had gotten from his friend.

It was surprisingly easy to adapt to dating Mark, even without actually knowing how he felt. Mark took Donghyuck on several coffee dates, adamant to getting to know him somewhere that wasn’t their kitchen and then to a museum and an aquarium and then something with stars, Donghyuck didn’t really remember the name. They exchanged good morning, good bye, welcome back, and good night kisses now, just soft kisses somewhere on their face and Donghyuck loved it.

He’d be cooking in the morning on a Saturday and a ruffled Mark would walk up behind him, wrapping his arms around the younger boy’s middle, hooking his chin over his shoulder, and ask, “What are you making?”

Mark would place a soft kiss on Donghyuck’s cheek as he answered and Donghyuck’s heart would beat out of his chest. They never really went further than kissing, considering the weird circumstances their relationship had even started in, but Donghyuck really didn’t mind. He enjoyed the soft kisses they shared, the slow ones, the kind of sloppy ones, and the ones Mark peppered over his skin every so often.

They fell into the relationship without any problems and after three months of dating Donghyuck asked Mark to be his boyfriend. Mark grinned and jumped at Donghyuck, pressing kiss after kiss to his lips as he whispered, “Of course, of course, of course.”

Donghyuck smiled into the kiss as he wound his arms around Mark’s shoulders and got him to finally kiss him completely. Mark made an obnoxious _mwah_ sound as he pulled away and Donghyuck rolled his eyes.

“You suck,” he complained but Mark only grinned and pressed another kiss to his lips, declaring, “But you’re stuck with me now and there’s so much you don’t even know about me yet.”

That statement proved to be very true the day Donghyuck got back late from rehearsal, at around 11 pm on a Wednesday. Now, normally Mark would have been asleep already, considering that he had 8 am classes on Thursday and he wasn’t exactly an early riser. However, as Donghyuck opened the door to their dorm room he was basically hit by the wonderful smell of pastry and the soft sounds of music and clattering from the kitchen. Carefully and slowly, Donghyuck removed his shoes, coat and bag before stepping into the living room. As far as Donghyuck was concerned, Mark didn’t bake. Especially not at 11 pm.

However, he was proved wrong as he stepped foot into the kitchen. Mark’s hair was ruffled and covered in flour, as was his shirt. On the kitchen isle stood at least three different kind of pastries such as chocolate chip cookies and palmier pig’s ear and there were more in the oven. Mark was apparently preparing more dough as he dug his hands again and again into the bowl before him. Donghyuck didn’t even know they had those.

“What are you doing?” he finally got himself to ask and Mark flinched, turning around with wide eyes. When he spotted Donghyuck, he shot him a tired smile and beckoned his closer by stretching out his arm. Donghyuck stepped into his boyfriend’s arms and immediately got embraced tightly. Mark pressed a kiss to Donghyuck’s temple before pulling away and tending to the dough again.

“My assignments are stressing me out and I really needed to get my mind off of it,” he answered Donghyuck’s questions as the younger boy hugged him from behind and peppered soft kisses on Mark ear, his cheek, his jaw. Donghyuck hummed, asking quietly, “Okay, but what is this?”

“I stress-bake, okay?” the elder grumbled and Donghyuck raised his eyebrows. That didn’t quite add up.

“You suck at cooking and you’re a menace in the kitchen but you _stress-bake_?”

Mark turned his head just to stick his tongue out at Donghyuck. He got the dough out of the bowl and put it on the counter instead, rolling it out with the rolling pin. Donghyuck giggled into his ear and clung to Mark like a koala. Mark pouted, weakly slapping at Donghyuck.

“Shut up or you’re not getting any of it,” he complained, still pouting. Donghyuck giggled again before turning the older boy around to kiss him properly. Mark sighed into his mouth, quick to move his lips and bury one hand in Donghyuck’s hair. Donghyuck knew he was getting flour all over himself but if kissing relaxed Mark, something Donghyuck had learned during the three months before they had become official, then he was more then happy to deliver. They kissed slowly, pressing against each other, until an alarm went of and they startled apart.

Reluctantly, Mark took the batch of cookies out of the oven, putting them on the isle as well. There was barely enough space for it and Donghyuck was worried about how long it had taken Mark to bake all of that. So, before Mark could get back to the dough he was currently preparing, Donghyuck trapped his boyfriend against the isle, asking with a pout, “But you’re coming to bed after this, right?”

Mark nodded immediately, a soft smile on his lips as he pressed a quick kiss to Donghyuck’s nose before freeing himself. Donghyuck took his word for it, ruffling Mark’s hair as he went out of the kitchen to wash up and get ready for bed.

It wasn’t much later when Donghyuck checked up on Mark again. He was leaning against the counter, head tilted back and eyes closed. Quietly, Donghyuck made his way over to his boyfriend, hugging him as soon as he was in reach. Mark didn’t even startle, instead wrapping his arms around Donghyuck as well and the younger boy smiled against his neck.

“I’m sure you’ll finish the assignment in no time,” Donghyuck whispered and Mark nodded, sighing. They stayed like that for a while and Donghyuck’s eyes were falling close with the exhaustion catching up to him and Mark’s presence lulling him into sleep. Donghyuck didn’t even really know what was happening anymore when he was lifted up and carried somewhere before being let down on something soft. Probably his bed. Kind of rough sheets, thick blankets? Okay, so it was Mark’s.

Mark tugged Donghyuck in and kissed his forehead, wishing him a goodnight. The smell of the pastries clung to him and Donghyuck reached out with half open eyes before he knew what he was doing. In the darkness, he didn’t really see anything but it seemed like he had caught Mark at his wrist as Mark’s hand gently settled on Donghyuck’s.

“What is it, baby?” Mark asked quietly as Donghyuck tugged him closer and he leaned down. It was proving hard to open his mouth in his sleepy state but Donghyuck powered through, eventually getting out, “I really really _really_ like you, Mark.”

Donghyuck thought Mark was smiling but maybe his brain was playing tricks on him. Mark pressed a soft kiss to the tip of Donghyuck’s nose.

“Me too, Hyuckie. I really really really like you too.”


End file.
